This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Panama: pleasures of city, forest and beach all within easy reach

By Paul MarshmanSpecial to the Star

Fri., Oct. 4, 2013

There’s an early morning mist in the air as we set out down the forest trail, and within minutes we are stopped in our tracks by a series of deep, guttural sounds so menacing we could be excused for thinking King Kong was on our tail.

And slowly, one by one, the husky, gorilla-like forms of a troupe of howler monkeys emerge.

They look sleepy, but soon their hair-raising roars echo across the rainforest as we spot tropical birds and brilliant blue butterflies along Pipeline Road, one of the Western world’s richest birding spots.

Our morning nature trip complete, we jump in the car for the 45-minute drive back along the Panama Canal to the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic international cities. Less than an hour from rainforest to downtown: this is Panama, a country where the pleasures of the city, forest and beach are all within minutes, and all worth the trip.

Article Continued Below

Panama City is a place bursting with new life these days. Sparked by a major expansion of the canal, it’s luring business from every part of the world, as well as tourists; two million visited Panama last year.

I last came to Panama five years ago. And driving into town this time, I’m amazed to see the changes, including the Cinta Costera, a network of emerald green parkland and walking paths that now lines the waterfront, bringing new life to a once-unfriendly spot.

I’m even more amazed by the city skyline that looms before me. On my last visit, I could barely find a hotel room. Now major hotels with names such as Waldorf Astoria, Trump, Riu and Westin have sprung up. Add to that an array of strange and wonderful new office buildings, such as the F&F Tower, looking like a stack of green plates swirled in circles by a crazy magician.

My home for this trip is the spanking new Hard Rock Hotel Panama Megapolis, in the downtown Paitilla district, where tourists and 20-something hipsters mingle amid a glittery array of rock artifacts.

Feel like shopping? Next door is the Multicentro Mall, the largest shopping mall in Central America. It’s a vibrant scene.

Happily, the city’s newfound vitality has enhanced the old Panama as well as the new. That includes Panama’s historic centre, the 17th-century Casco Viejo. On my first visit, years ago, it was a historic district set amid a slum. “Be careful!” my cab driver said. “There are bad people here.”

Today, tourist police patrol as I walk the streets, and many of the ancient buildings have been brought back to their shining white glory. Kuna Indian women in native costumes sell brightly coloured tapestries in the bazaars, and sophisticated restaurants offer gourmet dining in centuries-old buildings.

Article Continued Below

While you can find almost any kind of food in places such as the Via Argentina, Calle Uruguay and the causeway, the old quarter offers some of the best. On a Saturday night, I dine on an imaginative tasting menu at the noted Manolo Caracol restaurant, then join a stream of partiers headed for trendy nightclubs such as Habana Panama, with its Latin stage show.

The city has other attractions for sightseers. There’s an art and a science museum, the historic Plaza de Francia, and the Amador Causeway, where Toronto architect Frank Gehry is building a startling, multicoloured biodiversity museum. And of course, you could spend your whole trip discovering the history and workings of the canal.

But with the temperature around 30 degrees year-round, I feel like seeing another side of Panama: the beach.

City dwellers just take the short ferry ride to Taboga Island, near the entrance to the canal. But there’s little trouble arranging a real beach vacation.

A pleasant ninety-minute drive to nearby Cocle province brings me to the Royal Decameron Golf, Beach Resort & Villas and its almost two kilometres of white sand beach. Resorts from a number of major hotel companies dot this stretch of the Pacific coast, and signs advertise housing developments for gringos seeking a winter home. The Royal Decameron sells villas on the golf course. Here, you can enjoy beach in the morning and golf in the afternoon.

Cocle offers other sights, too. On a day trip, I admire the bustling markets of nearby Penonome and the picturesque Anton Valley, home to another growing community of expats. And it’s there that, on the last day of my trip, I get my first heart-pumping zip line ride, hurtling through dense, misty forest to dangle high over the impressive El Macho waterfall.

There’s lots more of Panama to see: the cool mountain forests of Chiriqui, the laid-back beach bars of Bocas del Toro, the white sand islands of San Blas, where the Kuna reign. It’s all within a half-hour flight of Panama City.

But that’s for next time.

Paul Marshman is a Toronto freelance writer and author of The Travelling Boomer travel blog (travellingboomer.com). He received assistance from Decameron Hotels & Resorts and Decameron Explorer tours in arranging this trip.

It’s all about the canal

The Panama Canal has brought the world to Panama’s door. And these days there’s great excitement about the canal’s current expansion, which will add a second, wider channel to allow bigger ships to pass through.

It’s well worth a visit to the canal while you’re in town, and local tour companies offer a variety of ways to see it.

Visit the Miraflores locks: This is the easiest way, as these are the nearest locks to downtown, and can be reached by cab. You can see the ships pass through close up, and there’s a museum explaining how the canal works.

Take to the water: You board a tour boat on the shore of Lake Gatun, toward the Caribbean side, and travel through the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks, passing huge ships along the way (wave to the sailors). The trip ends at the Amador Causeway in Panama City.

Take the train: Travelling to Colon on the Caribbean coast, you can visit the Gatun locks, where ships enter the canal from the ocean, and get a look at the expansion in progress. Then you board the Panama Canal Railway’s dome car for a scenic ride along the canal and Lake Gatun. (You can do the trip in the other direction as well.)

Do an eco tour: A motorboat takes you on a tour of Lake Gatun, part of the canal system, to explore its lush green landscape of islands. You may see tropical birds and monkeys, and there’s a zoo with rare species including the endangered harpy eagle.

More from The Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com